Fast ferry to bring 1,800 tourists weekly to holidays in the Bahamas

Tourists will soon be able to use a new fast ferry service to take them to their holidays in The Bahamas as a new service is scheduled to launch from the Port of Miami in the United States to the Caribbean island of Bimini in The Bahamas this summer.

A new fast ferry will give travellers a new way to take Bahamas holidays this summer as it launches a new service this June from the Port of Miami to the island of Bimini.

The 300-passenger ferry will bring up 1,800 holiday makers to their holidays to the Bahamas each week with six trips a week, each lasting approximately an hour and a half.

The “Patricia Olivia” ferry will be operated by Balearia Ferry Lines and will be leaving Spain to arrive in Miami for a “dry-run” service which is being planned for 24th April, 2011, according to Chief Counsel to the district Lloyd ‘Duda’ Edgecombe.

The new service has already been cleared by the US Department of Homeland Security and aside from some details which need to be confirmed with Customs and Immigration departments, the full fast ferry service is expected to launch in June this year.

Leslie Bethel, President of Notarc Management Group, a travel and real estate development consultancy firm, which was involved in providing the new ferry service for travellers taking holidays in the Bahamas, said that plans are also underway to launch a fast ferry service for Freeport in Grand Bahama in a bid to increase tourism to the city.

The Bimini-bound ferry is scheduled to depart Miami at 9am to arrive at the Caribbean island at 10.30am. The return trip will depart Bimini at 8pm and arrive in the Port of Miami at 10.30pm.

The ferry terminal and dock has yet to be decided but officials say that it is unlikely that the ferry will directly dock at the Bimini Bay Resort and Marina so that island residents can take advantage of the commercial benefits of the fast ferry.

While the decision is being made about the permanent terminal for the service, Edgecombe said that tenders and small boats will be used to ferry tourists taking Caribbean holidays, from the “Patricia Olivia” to the Government Dock in Alice Town.

“This is going to be a good opportunity for Biminites to work for themselves,” Edgecombe added.